X-Men: Days of Future Past

The X-Men movies more or less started the 21^st Century influx of superhero pictures, and are still one of the better comic book film series. But, for all it’s done right, the franchise committed one major blunder: The Last Stand. The third installment completely fumbled “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” one of the two most famous and important runs from the comic. Now, after years and a couple movies building up to it, the series tackles “Days of Future Past,” the other most famous and important run from the comic. This time, they absolutely nail it.

The film opens in a bleak, desolate future, where the world is ruled by mutant-hunting robots called the Sentinels. While most of humanity is held captive, the remaining X-Men—both familiar faces like Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and now-ally Magneto (Ian McKellan) and some newcomers—deduce that the only way to save the world is to alter this nightmarish future. This entails sending the consciousness of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back in time into his younger body in the 1970s to stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from assassinating the Sentinels’ creator (Peter Dinklage). To do this, Wolverine must enlist the help of the younger Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) that we met in X-Men: First Class.

Sound confusing? Well, it’s not at all. The crowded and convoluted plotline is streamlined into a narrative that’s easy to follow and breathlessly paced. But for all the serious stuff and complicated time-travel structure, it still leaves time for clever lighter moments (the best being courtesy of Evan Peters as a mutant whose appearance has caused controversy). Not stopping there, it even tries its best to fix continuity errors and atone for lackluster plot points in previous movies. It doesn’t completely succeed (although it seems the series is content with just pretending the disappointing X-Men Origins: Wolverine never happened, and I’m happy to go along with that). But after marveling that a movie with so much packed in is not only comprehensible, but intelligent and engaging, you can forgive a few mistakes.

And intelligent and engaging it certainly is, not some mere summer explosion fest. Sure, there’s plenty of action and cool special effects. After years of rumors and speculation about when the Sentinels will finally appear on the big screen, they do not disappoint. The designs pay tribute to their classic and other looks in the comics while integrating some new ideas, too, making for the coldest and most effective killing machines since Terminator. But the film’s best elements are its explorations of its characters and its sociopolitical eye. The timeless, malleable allegory for any persecuted group that mutants represent is clear as ever. More specific to this story is the continuing evolution of the characters, whose arcs deal with redemption, maturity, free will, and courage.

Especially good is Fassbender as the younger Magneto. Instead of emphasizing the character’s more brutal tendencies, he’s so understated and charismatic in his beliefs, however extreme they may be. McKellan’s Magneto has a point once in a while, but it’s still clear he’s a bad guy. With Fassbender, it’s almost hard to tell. The entire cast is exceptional, but he is by far the most interesting player, as he brings a new spin to the character, an ambiguity that was less apparent before.

The movie is not only possibly the best self-contained entry in the whole franchise (I’m still unsure whether or not it outranks X2), but it’s also satisfying as a passing of the torch from the older cast to the younger. True, there’s no official indication that this will be the last time we see the original cast, but the picture has an aura of finality to it. Plus, Jackman has hinted at hanging up the claws. If this does turn out to be the final outing for him or other series regulars, it’s a worthy curtain call.